Inbound telemarketing is characterized by periods of high telephone activity interposed between relatively common periods of inactivity. Telephone calling activity is generally the result of appearance of a mass media (television or radio) commercial which provides a calling number (often a free call) along with an invitation to order merchandise or services. Important to the telemarketing business is a ready response to each potential customer. For this reason, difficulties related to inadequate resources of personnel and equipment have a dramatic effect upon telemarketing profits. Due to the intermittent characteristics of the business, it is impractical to staff for peak activity periods while affording impractical periods of inactivity.
One solution to these problems is placing new incoming calls on "HOLD" when all manned stations are busy. However, when the length of an incoming call queue does not permit an answer to a call in a timely manner, as determined by the patience of a potential customer, that customer may become irritated and hang-up, representing what may be an important portion of a significant amount of lost business.